Pham Chi Dung, Nguyen Tuong Thuy and Le Huu Minh Tuan were convicted of ‘creating, storing and distributing information, materials and objects for the purpose of opposing the state’ in a one-day trial in Ho Chi Minh City, the Ministry of Public Security said.
Dung founded the Independent Journalists Association of Vietnam in 2014, which police said had sought regime change.
Despite sweeping economic reforms and increasing openness to social change, Vietnam’s ruling Communist Party enforces strict media censorship and tolerates little criticism.
The party, led by 76-year-old Nguyen Phu Trong, has stepped up its repression against dissent in the run-up to its five-yearly convention to be held later this month.
Dung was jailed for 15 years and Thuy and Tuan each for 11 years.
Washington’s Radio Free Asia said Thuy had commented on RFA’s Vietnamese service and condemned the convictions.
“The harsh conviction of Thuy and two other independent journalists is a blatant attack on fundamental freedoms and goes against the freedom of expression enshrined in Vietnam’s Constitution,” RFA President Stephen Yates said in a statement.
RFA said two other Vietnamese RFA employees are already serving prison sentences in Vietnam: Truong Duy Nhat, a blogger who was sentenced to 10 years last March, and Nguyen Van Hoa, a videographer who was sentenced to seven years in November 2017.
The US State Department, which has developed close ties with Hanoi but remains concerned about its human rights record, said it was disappointed with the latest judgments, calling them “harsh” and “the latest in a worrying trend ”.
“We urge the Vietnamese government to ensure that its actions are in accordance with the human rights provisions of its constitution and its international obligations and commitments,” said a spokesman.
Amnesty International said the statements underlined Hanoi’s contempt for the free media, especially ahead of the congress.
“Even by its own deeply repressive standards, the severity of the punishments shows the depth reached by censorship in Vietnam,” said its deputy regional director, Emerlynne Gil.
Human Rights Watch called the allegations “fake.”
“If the ruling party is so confident in its leadership, it must show its confidence by respecting civil and political rights,” said Deputy Asia Director Phil Robertson.